Means for recording music.



M. CLARK.

MEANS FOR RECORDING MUSIC.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 13, 1911.

Patenfied'Dec. 30, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

M, CLARK.

MEANS FOR RECORDING MUSIC.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 13, 1911.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

COLUMBIA i LANoGRAPM couwAsmNa'roN. n. c.

Patented Dec. 30, 1913.

M. CLARK.

MEANS FOR RECORDING MUSIC.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 13, 1911.

1,082,499. Patented Dec. 30, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MELVILLE CLARK, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO MELVILLE CLARK PIANOCOMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

MEANS FOR RECORDING MUSIC.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 30, 1913.

Application filed September 13, 1911. Serial No. 649,190.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MELVILLE CLARK, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois,-haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Means for Recording Music, ofwhich the following is a specification, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

The purpose of this invention is to provide an improved device to beattached to a piano or other similarly keyed instrument for recordingthe manual playing thereon of any piece of music within the capacity ofthe instrument.

It consists of the elements and features of construction shown anddescribed as indicated in the claims.

In the drawings :Figure 1 is a fore-andaft vertical section of a portionof the piano equipped with this invent-ion. Fig. 2 is a front elevationof the recording device. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail section showingthe primary pneumatiocontrolling valve in relation to the manual keywhich operates the valve. Fig. 4 is a detail section at the line, 4-4,on Fig. 2, upon a larger scale than said Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is adiagrammatic View showing pedal-operated valves controlling ductsleading to pneumatics for record ing the action of the pedals. Fig. 6 isa detail elevation showing a portion of a note sheet marked by thedevices constituting this invention. Fig. 7 is a vertical sectionsimilar to the lower portion of Fig. 1, showing a modification of themanual key operated valve for controlling the marking devices. Fig. 8 isa detail end view of several of the markers showing their type form.

The only parts of the piano necessary to be referred to forunderstanding this invention as applied to a piano, are the case, whosevarious parts are indicated by the numeral, 1, and the manual keys,indicated by the numeral, 2. Within the case, behind the fall board,above the manual keys, there is mounted a pneumatic action of thegeneral character familiar in auto-pneumatic playing devices, comprisinga primary pneumatic chamber, 8, containing primary pneumatics, 4, in thecustomary order of arrangement, and a system of motor pneumatics, 5,which are suitably mounted on supporting duct boards, 6, and connected,respectively, by tubes, 7, with the corresponding primary pneumatics.The motor pneumatics, 6, have their moving walls each provided with amarker, 8, said markers being positioned with their marking terminals inline overhanging a platen, 10, which is mounted upon a roll-carryingframe, 11, in which are mounted rolls, 12 and 18, corresponding to thecustomary music and take-up rolls of an automatic player mechanism, andwhich, it may be understood, are operated in the customary manner ofoperating such player mechanism rolls, by driving mechanism not shown.Most conveniently, the roll carriage, carrying the rolls and the platen,is positioned above the primary pneumatic chamber and below the motorpneumatics whose pencils are in that case, and as illus trated in thedrawings, mounted vertically. The moving walls of the motor pneumaticsare their upper walls, in the construction shown, so that the markersare depressed by the collapse of the motor pneumatics, and while suchcollapse continues are held in contact with the record strip, 15, whichis carried over the platen by the action of the rolls in the same mannerin which the note sheet is carried over a tracker bar in familiarauto-pneumatic player mechanisms.

The primary pneumatic chamber is connected by a duct, 16, with exhaustdevices, not shown, of any convenient type, for producing rareficationof the air in the primary pneumatic chambers of familiar types of autopneumatic player mechanisms.

In the primary pneumatic chamber, the primary pneumatics are mounted onduct bars 17, in which the ducts lead from the pneumatics, respectively,to lateral ports, 17, positioned in the portions of said bars whichprotrude from the chamber; said ports being in position to be closed byvalves, 18, carried by the manual keys, respectively, and sliding uponthe ported sides of said duct bars as the keys are respectivelydcpressed by the operator in manual playing.- The valves and ports whichthey respectively close are relatively positioned so thatthe ports arenot uncovered by slight depression of the keys such as might occuraccidentally or by rebound when the keys are struck suddenly andreleased, but so that the ports will be opened only bysufficientdepression of the keys to operate the sounding devices of theinstrument, so that the markers will be depressed for marking the recordstrip only when the tone is produced in playing.

A modification is shown in Fig. 7, consisting in interposing between themanual keys and the primary pneumatics bell-crank levers, 20, whosehorizontal arms are connected with the respective manual keys by bolts,21, protruding up from the keys and extending loosely through saidhorizontal arms of the levers, stop nuts, 22, 22, being provided on thebolts above the lever arms and. adjusted so as to allow a certain amountof movement of the keys before the levers are actuated thereby, saidlevers having on their upright arms valves, 23, which control the portsof the primary pneumatic ducts, respectively.

It will be seen that with such a device mounted, as described, inconjunction with the manual keys of a piano, the markers will recordupon the traveling record strip the eXact time at which each key isdepressed and the length of time it is held depressed, and will thusmake a correct record of all that constitutes the style of a player,except that which depends upon the force of his strokes upon the keys.The strip thus marked is designed to be used as a pattern for cutting anote sheet for playing auto matically the music which is thus recorded,and thereby reproducing the style of the player to the extent aboveindicated. lVhcn a note sheet has been cut in accordance with thepattern furnished by the record strip used in this device, it may beused in an automatic instrument for playing the music, the player fromwhose playing the record was made operating the pumping devices andmanipulating the various stops of the instrument for recording on thenote sheet by suitable mechanism the characteristics of his playingwhich are not recorded by the device herein shown. In my co-pendingapplication, Serial No. 649,191, filed Sept. 13, 1911, T have shownmechanism for so recording the manipulation of the controlling devicesof an automatic player, and thus completing the record of the style ofthe player, which may be used in cutting a final note sheet, by which itmay be reproduced automatically in all respects.

The operators use of the piano pedals may also be indicated in the samemanner his fingering of the manual keys, by providing motor and primarypneumatics with markers overhang" 1g the marginal portions of the recordstrip, and having primary pneumatics in the chambers, 3, provided withtubes, 19, leading from the lower ends of the duct bars on which saidprimary pneumatics respectively are mounted, to terminals, 24:, mountedin position to be controlled by valves, 24, on the pedal-operatedlevers, 33, 33, respectively, in the same manner as the valves of themanual keys control the ports of the other primary pneumatics, as abovedescribed.

Preferably, the marking is produced upon the record strip by means oftype bars; that is to say, the markers, 8, have their marking terminalsprovided with type faces, and the marks are produced by means of inkedribbon or carbon sheet, 25, which overhangs the record strip andreceives the stroke and continuing pressure of the marker for producingthe record mark on the strip. By this means, the first impact of themarker imprints the character which the marker carries on its operatingend, and said characters on the several markers being the names of thekeys of the manual to which they respectively correspond, black keysbeing denoted by a point adjacent to the letter-name of the key. Therecord strip is preferably longitudinally ruled in octave spacescorresponding in number to the octaves of the instrument from which therecord is to be taken. This manner of marking makes a record whichguides the operator of a master-cutting machine in making the master forthe perforated roll which is to be cut, to play the music in a manner inwhich the record shows it to have been played manually by the originaloperator; and since the master-cutting machines have keys correspondingto the several keys of the manual for operating the punches to cut themaster, the making of the record in the manner above described, that is,so that each mark consists of or begins with the name of the note towhich it corresponds greatly facilitates the work of cutting a master bymeans of this record, and avoids errors which would otherwise be liableto occur if the operator was obliged to ascertain the note merely by thealincment of the mark indicating it. Also a record made in this mannercan be readily transcribed into ordinary musical staff notation.

The preferred method of mounting the inking ribbon or carbon paper forthe purpose above described, consists in providing for it a roll, 26,having its bearings supported from the lower duct board, (3, the ribbonor carbon paper running from the roll in position to overlie the recordand rest thereon by gravity in position to receive the impact of themarkers when they are depressed. For advancing the carbon sheet orinking ribbon slightly from time to time and presenting a new surface tothe markers, each end of the roll, 26, may be provided with a ratchetdisk, 27, and pawls, 28, en gaging said ratchets are provided on arms,29, of a rock shaft, 80, journaled on one of the duct boards, a bar, 31,being provided connecting the two arms and extending across from side toside under the projecting ends of the moving walls of one bank of motorpneumatics so that the bar will be engaged by any of said projectingends when the pneumatics are actuated, thus giving the inking ribbon orcarbon sheet a step movement as often as there is a stroke of any of thepneumatics in said bank. In practice, this will advance the carbon sheetor inking ribbon one step for each three notes played. A friction brake,32, bearing on the surface of the roll, 26, prevents overfeeding.

In order that the record sheet may receive distinct impressions of thetype faces of the markers, and that the amount of pressure with whichthey are held down after their impact may be efi'ective to produce acontinuous mark following the type imprint, the platen, 10, ispreferably, as shown, a roll provided with a cushioning outer covering,10*.

It will be observed that by the construction described, the markersbeing thrust toward the note sheet with sufiicient force so that theirfirst impact will imprint the sheet with the type characters borne bythe markers, respectively, and being held in the position to which theyare thus thrust by the moderate pressure afforded by their operatingpneumatics, will operate to produce a continuous mark on the recordstrip extending onward from the type marking which is produced by thefirst impact, which continuous mark will be light as compared with thatproduced by the first impact of the marker, but still clearlydistinguishable throughout the full movement of the record stripoccurring while the marker is held depressed. In the absence ofprovision for permittingthe transfer or mark-producing sheet to movealong somewhat with the record strip, it would be liable to happen thatthe first impact of the marker producing its type mark upon the recordstrip would so nearly exhaust the marking substance on the transferstrip at the exact point of impact, that the subsequent travel of therecord strip under the marker would not produce a sufliciently obviousor readily visible mark for the purpose of indicating the length of thenote; but by mounting the transfer sheet as described, upon a roll whichis only yieldingly held against turning to allow the sheet to be unwoundtherefrom, the transfer sheet will be slightly dragged with the notesheet during the transfer of the latter while the marker remains pressedupon it so that there will be furnished under the marker, a portion ofthe surface of the transfer sheet which is sufficiently fresh to insurethe production of the continuous mark desired upon the record strip.This is more certainly accomplished because by the feeding device abovedescribed it will be observed that the roll, 26, is given the stepmovement for turning to unwind or release the transfer strip, 25, in

the retracting movement of the marker, so that at the impact of themarker, and thereafter during the travel of the note sheet while themarker is held down, there is a little slack of the transfer sheet to bedrawn upon by the frictional drag of the record strip onsaid transfersheet.

1. In combination with the manual keys of a keyed instrument, arecording device comprising a platen; means for propelling a recordstrip over the platen; pneumatics for the several keys whose action isto be recorded; markers corresponding to the pneumatics respectively,positioned with their marking terminals exposed toward the area of theplaten at which the strip bears on the latter in crossing it;connections by which the pneumatics actuate their respective markers toadvance their marking terminals toward the platen; a mark-producing ortransfer sheet interposed between the marking terminals and the platen,said mark-producing sheet being restrained back of the line of bearingof the markers on the platen, whereby the travel of the record stripduring the pressure of the markers tends to hold said sheet tense atsaid line of bearing.

2. In combination with the keys of a keyed instrument, a recordingdevice comprising a platen; means for propelling a record strip over theplaten; pneumatics for the several manual keys'whose action is to berecorded; markers corresponding to the pneumatics, respectivelypositioned with their marking terminals exposed toward the area of theplaten at which the strip bears on it in crossing it; connections bywhich the pneumatics actuate their respective markers for advancingtheir marking terminals toward the platen; a roll upon which saidtransfer sheet is carried mounted opposite the record strip at aposition rearward in respect to the direction of travel of said stripfrom the line of bearing of the markers on the platen,

and means yieldingly restraining the unwinding of said transfer stripfrom the roll.

3. In combination with the keys of a keyed instrument; a recordingdevice comprising a platen; means for propelling a record strip over theplaten; pneumatics for the several keys whose action is to be recorded;markers actuated by the pneumatics respectively positioned with theirmarking terminals exposed toward the surface of the platen at which thestrip bears on the latter in crossing it; connections by which thepneumatics actuate their respective markers to advance their markingterminals toward the platen; a mark-producing or transfer sheetinterposed between the marking terminals and the platen; aroll uponwhich said transfer sheet is carried, mounted opposite the record stripat a position rearward in respect to the direction of travel of saidstrip from the line of bearing of the markers on the platen; meansyieldingly restraining the unwinding of said transfer strip from theroll, and means operated by the marker-actuating pneumatics forpositively unwinding the transfer sheet to release new area thereof forexposure to the markers. 1

at. In combination with the keys of a keyed instrument, a recordingdevice comprising a platen; means for propelling a record strip over theplaten; pneumatics corresponding to the several keys whose action is tobe re corded; markers corresponding to the pneumatics respectivelypositioned with their marking terminals exposed toward the surface ofthe platen at which the strip bears on the latter in crossing it;connections whereby the pneumatics actuate their respective markers;valves operated by the manual keys for controlling the pneumatics,respectively; a mark producing sheet interposed between the markingterminals and the platen, and means for holding said sheet adapted toyield to permit it to be drawn with the record strip in the travel ofthe latter.

In combination with the keys of a keyed instrument, a recording devicecomprising a platen; i'neans tor propelling a record strip over theplaten; pneumatics corresponding to the several keys whose action is tobe recorded and means for controlling them by the keys, respectively;markers actuated by the pneumatics respectively positioned with theirmarking terminals exposed toward the surfaces of the platen at which thestrip bears 011 the latter in crossing it; connections by which thepneumatics actuate their respective markers; a mark-producing sheetinterposed between the marking terminals and the platen, and means forholding said sheet adapted to yield to permit it to be drawn with therecord strip in the travel of the latter, the marker-actuatingpnemnatics and their controlling devices being adapted for holding themarkers in marking position throughout the entire time of action of thekey whose action is to be recorded, said markers having as their markingterminals type characters for indicating the keys to which theyrespectively correspond.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Chicago, Illinois,this 1st day of September, 1911.

MELVILLE CLARK.

Witnesses LUoY I. STONE, M. GERTRUDE Any.

Copies 01' this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

